Hells Angels still a significant force in B.C. despite the recent death of a member

Bjorn Sylvest, second from right, who died July 3 on a houseboat on Shuswap Lake, is shown in a photo posted to an online memorial. On the right is a superimposed image of Hells Angel Larry Amero, who is in jail in Quebec while awaiting trial for conspiracy to import cocaine. PNG

As B.C. Hells Angels mourn the recent death of a member of the West Point chapter, police say the biker gang remains a significant criminal force in the province.

Bjorn Sylvest died July 3 while on a houseboat on the Shuswap Lake, Barb McLintock, of the B.C. Coroners Service, confirmed.

“The death of Mr. Sylvest was reported to us and we are investigating,” she said.

Sylvest was remembered last week by his fellow Hells Angels and other pals at a service in south Surrey.

And they paid tribute to the 35-year-old heavy-duty mechanic Thursday with a procession of 200 to 300 bikers riding from the White Rock Hells Angels clubhouse to the Victory Memorial Park Funeral Centre.

Bjorn Sylvest, 35, of the Metro Vancouver-based West Point Hells Angels chapter died July 3, 2016 while on a houseboat on Shuswap Lake. He is being mourned online by friends and fellow Hells Angels members. PNG

Among the mourners were bikers wearing patches of the Hells Angels, the Throttle Lockers, the Shadow Club, the Jesters, the Devil’s Army, the Castaways, the Ironworkers Motorcycle Club and the Horsemen Brotherhood.

While Sylvest’s West Point chapter has taken a hit with his death, the Hells Angels “remain active in British Columbia and overall membership appears to have remained consistent over the last few years,” RCMP Supt. Sandro Colasacco said in an interview.

He said the current membership of the HA in B.C. is about 120 in nine chapters.

“This number does fluctuate based on factors such as police enforcement initiatives and criminal charges,” said Colasacco, intelligence officer for the RCMP’s E Division.

“Previous investigations have made it clear that some members of the Hells Angels are involved in illicit drug, weapons and violence-related offences, including murder. It is for this reason that the Hells Angels and other outlaw motorcycle gangs remain a priority for the RCMP and our law enforcement partners.”

The West Point chapter was started in 2012 by a breakaway group of bikers that had been members of the White Rock chapter.

West Point was supposed to be based in Surrey, but RCMP Asst. Commissioner Bill Fordy said at the time he would block any attempt the group made to open a clubhouse in his city.

So West Point started holding its regular “church” meetings upstairs from a Langley pub.

Photos posted on Sylvest’s online tribute page show him with other Hells Angels in Berlin, Barcelona and at Canadian gatherings. A photo of the West Point chapter posing with two Harleys shows Sylvest beside a superimposed image of fellow chapter member Larry Amero, who is in custody in Quebec awaiting a 2017 trial on charges of conspiracy to import cocaine.

Amero isn’t the only B.C. Hells Angel currently before the courts. Kelowna full-patch bikers David Giles and Brian Oldham, as well as three associates, are also on trial in B.C. Supreme Court on a conspiracy to import cocaine charge. That case is expected to finish later this month.

And the Hells Angels in B.C. are embroiled in a legal battle with the B.C. government over the fate of three clubhouses. The B.C. director of civil forfeiture wants the East End, Kelowna and Nanaimo clubhouses forfeited, claiming they’ll be used for future criminal activity. The bikers have filed a counter-suit alleging the civil forfeiture act violates the Charter. That case is slated for trial in May 2017.

B.C. Hells Angels spokesman Ricky Ciarniello did not respond to an interview request.

Sylvest had no criminal record in B.C.

His obituary said he was an entrepreneur “who conceived, launched and successfully operated, as well as expanded curbside mobile repair.”

Friends and relatives posted comments, calling him “very kind, loving and generous” and “a great guy” who loved to snowboard and play hockey.

A Hells Angel member named Gerald, from the Paris chapter, recalled meeting Sylvest in Berlin three years ago.

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